“Actually I don’t know what I was going to say,” he lied. “I just.... I thought maybe I should apologise for that.”
For that?
Could he make it sound any more insignificant? Yet Nicole had given him an opportunity to stop this before it went any further and in retrospect, it was probably for the best. So why was his heart sinking faster than a lead diving belt out on the reef?
Nicole exhaled. “It wasn’t your fault. It just... happened.”
She was right about that. And the thing which floored him was it had never “just happened” like that to him before.
He nodded, more in control now. Yes, she was right. It had been a mistake. Probably his, since he was the one who had been coming on to her all night, and not necessarily deliberately, either. Somehow this little game he’d been playing had got way out of control.
“I’m sorry anyway,” he said sincerely. “For tonight. If I in anyway indicated that....”
Nicole held up a hand. “Please...” she said. “Don’t go there. You didn’t. We both knew we were playing a part.” She managed a small smile. “So we got a bit carried away, that’s all. No harm done.”
“No harm done,” he agreed, feeling like a bastard. He had led her on. Now he was making out like she’d read something into it which wasn’t there.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” Nicole shifted position on the bed. It was clear she wanted him to leave.
“Yes. Tomorrow. We’ll go diving.”
“Sure. Sounds good.”
She didn’t look up.
Ryan gnawed his lip and headed for the door leading into the lounge and his pull-out couch bed. He paused, turning to look at her one last time, but her head was down. She was fiddling with a bracelet on her wrist.
“Goodnight, Nicole.”
“Nite, Ryan.”
With nothing left to say, Ryan quietly closed the bedroom door, effectively sealing off any further possibility of taking tonight’s beach tryst any further.
CHAPTER SIX
“I’ll meet you at the marina,” called Ryan, as he headed out of the door with a towel over his shoulder.
Nicole was purposely procrastinating in the bathroom. She didn’t want to talk to Ryan about last night. She was still reeling from the kiss herself and didn’t know what to make of it. Apart from that it had been a giant mistake.
She hoped it wouldn’t spoil the day. This was the first vacation she’d had in three years, and it was such an amazing island she wanted to enjoy every last second on it. God only knew when she’d get another opportunity like this one. If ever.
“Great. I won’t be long,” she replied, hearing the bedroom door slide open and shut as Ryan left the house.
The marina was only a short walk away but then everything was only a short walk away on this island. Nicole wore her bathing suit which fit better under a wetsuit. She didn’t want to worry about straps digging into her ribs or bikini bottoms riding up uncomfortably when she was diving. Ryan had said the catamaran was fully equipped with diving gear, so she didn’t take anything with her except her wetsuit, a book and a towel in a fabric beach bag, slung over her shoulder.
The 42-foot, sleek-lined vessel shimmered in the morning sun. The crew were readying her for sailing. Ryan waved from the gleaming deck and beckoned for Nicole to come aboard. She grabbed hold of the support railing and hoisted herself up.
“This is a beautiful boat,” she mused, taking in the elegant exterior, leather seating, tall masts and cornflower-blue canopy that almost matched the shade of the sky.
“Vincent keeps it in good condition,” agreed Ryan, winching one of the sails in place. Nicole watched his arm rotate and sensed the strength transfer from his muscles to the contraption.
So far they’d avoided talking about what happened last night. At breakfast, Ryan had said very little, only talking to brief her on their excursion today. Nicole had eaten quickly and returned to the chalet before Ryan. Luckily Vincent and Sylvia were having a lie in and weren’t there. Continuing the pretence first thing this morning, in light of what had happened last night, would have been pushing it.
“Take a seat,” said Ryan, gesturing to the canopy suspended over the twin hulls. “But watch the boom. It’s lower than on other boats and can pack quite a punch if it hits you.”
Nicole nodded and perched on the canvas, in a half-lying position. She was no stranger to boats, although she’d never been on a catamaran before. She and Stephen had often gone sailing on the Hartebeespoort Dam north of Johannesburg. They’d rented yachts – nothing like this one, or Dominic’s – but she knew the basics.
Nicole took off her T-shirt. She may as well get some sun. The warm rays caressed her shoulders and back. It felt great. As the tension drained away, she watched Ryan and the crew cast off from the mooring. One of the lads jumped off and gave the boat a hefty heave, then he jumped aboard at the last moment as it caught the wind.
They were off, heading out towards the reef. Nicole watched the bubbling, jagged crests come ever closer.
“There’s your friend’s boat,” scoffed Ryan, crouching down next to her and pointing over the starboard side.
Nicole looked. A sleek, clear-lined ketch sat anchored inside of the reef about two hundred metres away from them. It was streamlined and minimalistic, with a dark, ebony hull and a pale deck. The tall masts shone in all their stainless-steel glory. It was a truly magnificent sight.
“Impressive,” murmured Nicole.
“Having second thoughts?”
She looked up sharply but Ryan avoided eye contact. She sighed. Sooner or later they were going to have to move on from that kiss. Otherwise, the rest of the holiday was going to be unbearable.
“It is a beautiful boat,” she admitted, turning her head to have another look. A figure waved from the deck.
“Is that Dominic?” asked Nicole, straining her eyes.
“The man himself,” confirmed Ryan, getting to his feet. He made his way over to the main consol and consulted with the skipper.
Nicole waved back.
They sailed around for a bit before dropping anchor inside the reef. The water was calm where the boat was, but really choppy on the other side of the reef. The breeze from the night before had turned into a light wind and the sails buffeted comfortingly above them.
“Are you going to scuba or snorkel?” asked Ryan, approaching her once they’d come to a standstill.
“I think I’ll scuba,” she decided, opting for the option that would take her further away from Ryan. Although she’d only dived once before, she had done her PADI diving certificate and felt fairly confident.
“You sure?” Ryan looked marginally concerned.
“I’ll be fine.” She got up and took the mask he held in his hand. “Let’s go get kitted up.”
He nodded and led the way to the diving platform where the crew had readied their gear. Nicole slipped into her wetsuit, which was more comfortable when diving, even though the water temperature seldom got below 26ºC.
“Can I do it up for you?” asked Ryan, and without waiting for an answer, turned her around and zipped her up.
“Thanks.” She didn’t require his help but didn’t want to appear rude. Things were awkward enough between them.
“We’ll do a shallow dive,” Ryan told her. “About eight to fifteen metres.”
“Fine with me,” confirmed Nicole, heaving the heavy tank onto her back.
“Need a hand with that?” asked Ryan.
“Nope. I’m good.” Nicole fastened it in place and secured the regulator, then without glancing at Ryan, pulled on her mask.
“Ready?” asked Ryan a few minutes later. He was similarly kitted up, the tight wetsuit outlining his muscular body like a second skin. Nicole accidently cast her eyes down towards his “package” and then hastily looked away. So he was well built in more than one sense of the word. Luckily she was wearing the diving mask so he couldn’t see where she’d been looking. She’d be mortifie
d otherwise.
Nicole nodded and they stepped off the diving platform and sank into the clear blue water.
Submerging under water was like entering a different world. The sun shot silver daggers through the surface which delved to a depth of about five feet before losing their radiance. From then on Nicole felt like she was encased in a world of florescent blues, greens and yellows. She followed Ryan to a depth of about ten metres, and then they swam forward until they approached the sloping reef wall. The unspoilt coral twinkled with muted pastels as fish of many shapes and sizes swam in and around the reef.
Nicole feasted her eyes on the scene before her. This was worth coming here for, if nothing else. Anemones swayed lethargically while resident clown fish flittered in and out, painting the blue depths with specks of red and orange. She spotted angelfish, pufferfish and even a turtle making its way out into deeper water.
She looked around, but couldn’t see Ryan anywhere. Feeling a little insecure, but still confident she could handle herself, Nicole made for deeper water. She swam over the reef wall and momentarily felt like she was flying as the wall gave way to the deep blue waters beyond. A spurt of bubbles next to her caused her to turn swiftly. A figure was waving at her and pointing upwards. It wasn’t Ryan, his hair was darker. For a moment she thought it might be one of the crew, but then realised it was Dominic. She nodded and they ascended to the surface.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, lifting his mask up and grinning at her. “I thought that was you.”
His hair was swept back off his forehead showing his lovely Indian Ocean tan and deep blue eyes.
Nicole couldn’t help smiling back. “How are you, Dominic?”
They were treading water. The waves were much choppier this side of the reef. Nicole had to keep her chin up lest a crest hit her in the face. It was much calmer below the surface.
“I’m good. Look, I won’t keep you up here. I wanted to get you away from big brother over there and invite you on board for cocktails this evening.”
Nicole sighed. “You know I can’t,” she said softly. “I’m here with Ryan.”
“How serious are you two?” he asked, suddenly. “I wasn’t too sure, last night.”
Nicole knew she had to tread carefully. If she said, not very, it might make its way back to Vincent and the last thing she wanted was for him to withdraw his funding and all this to be in vain. But on the other hand, Dominic was cute and Nicole knew she could have some fun with him, if not now, then perhaps back in Johannesburg. Ryan obviously wasn’t interested in anything other than his subterfuge, so she didn’t feel much of a sense of loyalty there, even if he had reduced her to a quivery mass yesterday.
But she had to burn her bridges with Dominic to prevent Vincent from finding out about her and Ryan’s little game.
Dominic sensed her hesitation. “Bring him along if you must,” he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “I promise I won’t intimidate him too much.”
Nicole burst out laughing. Dominic was so arrogant, she couldn’t help it.
“I’d love to,” she said, feeling rebellious. Why should she sacrifice herself for a man she hardly knew? Ryan was constantly reminding her they were acting out a role here on the island and she shouldn’t read anything more into it. It was her holiday, too. In light of Ryan’s current attitude, it might be fun to introduce some new people into the mix. “I’ll see if Ryan is keen.”
There was a shout and Nicole glanced back towards the reef. Ryan was gesturing urgently.
“That’s my queue to leave,” said Dominic, putting his mask back on. “See you later. Maybe.”
Nicole chuckled to herself as he flicked his feet in the air and disappeared. Then she put her mask back on and followed suit.
The swim back to the reef was harder than she had anticipated. A strong current was pulling her back towards the open sea. For a moment Nicole almost panicked, then she focused all her energy on kicking hard towards the reef. Her flippers did their job but she was running out of energy when a figure appeared next to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the reef wall. She gladly let him help her. Her legs were burning from the exertion. When they surfaced in calmer water, they were only metres from the catamaran.
“What the hell do you think you were doing?” Ryan fired the question at her before he’d even pulled his mask off. “I said shallow dive, not swim off the Cliffs of Insanity.”
Nicole removed her mask and did a slow breaststroke towards the boat platform.
“Can we get on the boat before you bawl me out?” she asked, hauling herself up. “I’m a bit worn out from that swim.”
Ryan followed her on board, a deep scowl on his face. “There is a strong current out there. You could have been swept away.”
“No kidding,” she said, wondering how Dominic had fared. She turned to look at his boat. He was pulling himself onto the deck, seemingly unscathed.
“It was quite by accident. I had no idea it would be so hard going.”
“I’m sure,” said Ryan, following her gaze. “I saw you talking to Dominic. If you wanted to see him all you had to do was ask. I would have taken you over to his boat. You didn’t have to put your life in danger to do it.”
Nicole stared at him. The scowl had lessened but his eyes were still angry.
“I wasn’t trying to meet him,” she insisted. He’d been trying to meet her, but that was beside the point.
“Really? Well, why did you venture so far out over the reef?” It was clear Ryan didn’t believe her. Every muscle in his neck was rigid. His anger was probably more to do with his ego than her safety.
“I followed a turtle.”
“What?” Ryan blinked at her then, as her words sunk in, he snorted. “You followed a turtle?”
Nicole nodded. What was so funny about that?
Ryan shook his head, unable to retain his cross look. “Okay, well in future don’t follow any animal that’s headed beyond the reef.” He narrowed his eyes. “That goes for the human variety, too.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “Ha-ha.”
“I don’t want to lose you out there,” he said softly.
“Because then your carefully laid plan would be in tatters?” Nicole couldn’t help herself. The emotions from last night and Ryan’s subsequent dismissal, along with her own acute embarrassment, made her blurt out stuff she didn’t mean to.
Ryan stared at her thoughtfully, and then calmly removed a wet strand of sea grass from her cheek. “No silly, because I don’t want to lose you out there.”
Immediately Nicole felt her heart sputter to life again. It was annoying how he only had to look at her to send her pulse rate rocketing. Cute as Dominic was, he didn’t have nearly the same effect on her. Ryan’s impossibly long eyelashes were stuck together with water and his hair was sticking up in all directions but Nicole didn’t think she’d ever seen a hotter guy.
He unzipped his wetsuit and peeled it off his rippling shoulders. Nicole didn’t even try to avert her eyes. When he had it pulled down to his waist he gestured for them to take a seat.
“Perhaps we should talk about what happened last night,” he said steadily.
“That would probably be a good idea.” Because she was confused as hell – and very conscious their shoulders were now touching. Nicole had dumped her tank and mask after she’d climbed on board, but she still had her wetsuit on. Truth be told, she simply didn’t have the energy to remove it right now.
“First, let’s get you out of that wetsuit.” Resistance was futile, for Ryan leant back, unzipped her and pulled it down over her shoulders. Feeling like a child, Nicole wriggled her arms free of the restricting neoprene. Finally, he tugged it down to her waist.
“Your strap is twisted,” he said, slipping his fingers under her swimsuit strap to untwist it. Nicole breathed in sharply as his warm fingers touched her bare back.
“Thank you,” she croaked. The urge to jump on him was beyond overwhelming.
Ryan seemed
utterly oblivious to her uncontrollable desire. He leant back on his hands, tilting his face up to the sun. Already his bronzed chest was bone dry.
Nicole waited for him to say something. Anything.
After a long, painful minute, Ryan sat up and turned to face her. “Do you want to know the real reason I came into your bedroom last night?”
Nicole nodded, hardly daring to breathe.
“Because I wanted to continue what we’d started on the beach.”
At her astonished stare he continued. “You’d been driving me mad all evening. On the beach... I lost control. It’s never happened to me before. When I kissed you, I wanted to keep on kissing you.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” whispered Nicole.
“Because you gave me an excuse not to. You told me not to say it was a mistake. That you knew anyway. I thought then maybe you were right. So I decided to leave it and not take it any further.”
“I should have kept my mouth shut,” she murmured.
Ryan laughed. “So you wanted it, too?”
Was he serious?
“You couldn’t tell?”
“I wasn’t sure....” He let his voice trail off as his finger traced an invisible line under her collar bone. Nicole shivered.
“And what about now?”
“Ryan, we don’t have to pretend anymore. You can stop tormenting me.” Making light of the situation didn’t help. Nicole shifted uncomfortably. Heat of a different kind was flooding her loins and turning her legs to jelly.
“I’m not pretending now,” he said softly, his mouth very close to her ear.
Nicole began breathing rapidly. Her chest rose and fell as she once again found herself staring at his mouth, willing him to kiss her.
But he didn’t. This time he didn’t take the initiative. He waited until she couldn’t take it anymore and flung herself on top of him, kissing him with all the pent-up emotions of the last twenty-four hours.
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back with a lot more control than she was exhibiting. After a few mind-blowing moments, he whipped her over onto her back so she was lying on the taut canvass beneath him. The water gurgled below as it lapped gently against the twin hulls. The catamaran rocked gently.
The New Year Resolution Page 7
